A few pics of our last day

Louvre, Seine River cruise, and Eiffel Tower at night.

Charles de Gaulle bonne journée

We are waiting to board the flight home. We should land around 2:30. And we hope to catch the airbus at 3:30. We can't wait to see all of you. There are so many stories :).
Au revoir

Breakfast at the hotel ... Sometimes it feels like we are in a grotto

Louvre or Versailles?

After a mixup with the close and open dates with the Louvre yesterday, we are heading back again this morning. In Paris, nearly all museums are closed on Mondays, and I accidentally lumped the Louvre into this as well. Instead, the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. 

Instead of the Louvre yesterday, we hoped on the RER out to Versailles. Because of the late morning hour we traveled out there, we were forced to wait in a very long line for tickets and entrance to the Palace. My estimate yesterday was a 2:30 hour wait, but it ended up being a bit shorter at 2 hours. It would not have been that bad, but the temperature was just over 40 degrees and the wind was blowing steadily. Despite the conditions, we nearly all made it. A small portion of our group elected to stay inside the lunchroom the entire time, while the rest of us toured through the elegant Palace and briefly saw the gardens as well. 

After Versailles, we stopped off at the arc de Triumphe and went to the top to see a wonderful panorama of the city. For there, we gave the students a little shopping time and then went to the Latin Quarter for dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant and got Gelato for dessert. 

Metros and Versailles

Longest Line Ever

We are in the middle of the longest line I have ever been privileged to be a part of. We are at the Palace of Versailles waiting to go through security. A rough estimate is about a 2:30 hour wait. Hope the kids enjoy it!

Very long day

Just completed an epic day filled with just about everything.

Spent a little time this morning sketching along the Seine River, some spent it huddled together to avoid the brisk wind. Then we split up into two groups and some of us took a tour and listened to information about the University of Paris while others spent some time walking around the base of the Eiffel Tour and its park.

After that, we all got some food by the Seine and then toured the Eiffel Tower itself. Many of us faced our fears and went to the very top.

From there we took the metro to a famous chocolate shop, Fauchon, and shopped in the Gallery LaFayette.

Even though exhaustion was running high, we again took the metro to the Arc de Triumphe and ate dinner at the Virgin Records Megastore.

Off to the Louvre tomorrow!

Thai food, Eiffel Tower, and a late night in Paris

Fun times

Montmartre avec chocolate.

Montmartre and Place de la Concorde

Couple pics for now. Robert posting to the blog this morning, Andrea, Patsy, and Robert haggling with the street artists at Montmartre, and the group in front of one of the fountains by the Champs Élysées.

It's way too cold.

Robert Werthman - The 12 hour flight would of been so much better if there wasn't a crying baby that wouldn't stop, luckily we could watch a ton of good movies like Life of Pi and Cloud Atlas. Finally after getting off the plane and not wearing a jacket you were just hit was a chilling wind around 40 degrees. We then walked into the airport where the first thing we saw was 3 soldiers walking around with guns. After waiting an hour to buy tickets we made it to the subway which was 10 times as crowded as the one in New York City! You couldn't even walk a foot with out bumping into a bunch of rude people. Other then all of that the food is amazing, the museums are filled with beautiful art,  and the women are beautiful. Only really bad experience is the people outside their shops yelling at you to come in, and then when you don't you feel terrible.

Hannah Paris views!

Hey everyone! So the food is amazing! Obviously though.... So far I have had many crepes,salmon,pizza, bread,snails... Ect. Snails are bomb! Paris is absolutely stunning and magical!!! Although some of the magic may be our sleep deprivation/ time change! But it is still beautiful and very thing I hoped it would be! So fun and best place to shop in the world! My family should be expecting beautiful gifts ;) ! Au revoir! :)

Musee de Orsay and Napoleon

A couple hours spent gazing at some of the worlds best masterpieces along with some quality sketching time(see pic), then a baguette for lunch started our day off just right. From there, we stopped by the Invalides, Napoleon's tomb, and the Musee de L'Armee. Finally, we took the metro up to the Gallery LaFayette for an hour of shopping packed with tourists. At the hotel now for a short break before our dinner plans.

Breakfast and museum hunting.

This image shows half of our hotel breakfast spot. In the basement, but very comfortable. The kids have fallen in love with chocolate filled croissants, Nutella, and Parisian coffee.

We are off this morning to the Musee de Orsay and then hopefully to Napoleon's tomb and then the Musee de Rodin. Lots of art and sketching for our students today!

Notre Dame photos

Notre Dame & Le Jardains

Waiting for Notre Dame towers to be open and relaxing for lunch at Luxembourg gardens. More pics of Notre Dame to come later. Hope all is well in SB!

Our hotel

Off to Notre Dame this morning, then lunch at Luxembourg gardens and St. Chapel lee this afternoon. Hopefully a little shopping time later on.

First Day

Made it in to Charles De Gaulle airport a little behind schedule, but with very little turbulence, so that was nice. After quite awhile getting through customs, baggage claim, and the metro ticket counter, we finally made it to the hotel about 2:30 Paris time.

Nearly everyone took a short nap or a shower and then we walked to the Latin Quarter to see Notre Dame for the first time and the had dinner at a lovely Italian Pizzeria. This year marks the 850 year birthday of Notre Dame, FYI.

We are all now back at the hotel and going to call it a night. Tomorrow we are getting up early and heading back to Notre Dame to climb the bell towers and see the interior as well.

Our (already) weary travelers and our plane.

Security

Made it to LAX with minimal traffic and through security without a problem. At our gate at Tom Bradley International terminal with some time to relax before our 4:50 pm flight. Everyone is having fun so far!

Updates

We will be posting each day (if possible) pictures and a brief description of what we have done during the day. Hopefully I can get a few kids to contribute some pics or text as well!

Welcome!

Welcome students and parents! We are so excited to be traveling with you to the City of Lights in just 5 days!